Best 5 Hamburger Joints in Zagreb

There has been somewhat of a hamburger revolution in the Croatian capital over the last 12-18 months with lots of dedicated hamburger joints opening up in a city that was ruled for so long by Ćevapi and Burek places…

So where do you go for the best hamburger in Zagreb? That answer is keenly debated and always changing, but here is Croatia Week’s current top 5.

1. Rocket Burger

Run by passionate Canadian foodies Barclay and Briana Morgan from Vancouver, all Rocket Burger’s beef is ground on site using only prime cuts and not trims, meaning customers are served with the freshest and tastiest 100% beef patties, and it’s not the only thing freshly made on site. Barclay and Briana make all the sauces used for their burgers (BBQ, ketchup, mayonnaise), the hamburger buns, using only fresh milk and butter, and they even make their own pickles. The Cheddar Bacon Supreme (35kn) – Cheddar cheese, bacon, beer-caramelized onions and Rodeo sauce is mouth-watering.

Using a play on the slang word for Zagreb locals ‘Purgeri’, Burgeraj’s real American style burgers come in 5 tasty styles – hamburger, bacon cheeseburger, onion jam, pepper jam and tamari mushroom (all come with homemade fries). The caramelized onion and pepper jam burger is our favourite. One warning, if you are hungry you need to go for the triple burger as the buns are a touch small. Burgeraj also does a number of American IPA’s (India Pale Ale).

Tucked away in a side street in Trešnjevka in Zagreb’s west, Bistro Šalša offer a simple daily burger menu, usually two burger choices. Their 200g of ground steak, green salad, panceta, roasted fried paprika, local smoked cheese, fresh tomatoes, pickle, onion with joghurt dressing burger comes with homemade fries and does not disappoint. Bistro Šalša also have Nova runda craft beer on tap.

Location: Kostelska 11Prices: Burgers 35kn

4. Yellow Submarine

Another new edition, located just off Zagreb’s main high street, Yellow Submarine’s burgers are made exclusively from organic, locally grown ingredients. Their burgers don’t contain additives, antibiotics or GMOs. We recommend the country burger (100% pure, once minced meat, fresh cabbage, tomato, caramelized onion, škripavac cheese, crispy bacon, mustard and honey sauce). They also do the 1.3kg giant burger. The atmosphere is also vibrant and the staff extremely friendly.

Papa’s is another relatively new edition to the hamburger scene in Zagreb. A burger bar which has a sports bar atmosphere inside and a relaxing terrace out, Papa’s have more of a ‘Croatian’ taste to their burgers due to the seasoning of the patties (pljeskavice). Their MOM’s FAVORITE BURGER (100% beef pattie, lettuce,tomato, fresh cucumber, cottage cheese, and chipotle sauce) is delicious. Condiments, such as mayo and Heinz ketchup, are freely on hand to use which is a plus.